Free schools

The Rural Enterprise Academy

Mixed · ages 11–16 · no sixth formStaffordshire, West Midlands · Penkridge ST19 5PHTrust: Penk Valley Academy TrustSchool website
Pupils on roll
217of 300 places
Free school meals
28.6%
Year 11 cohort 2025
54
Ofsted
Inadequate, 9 July 2024Read the Ofsted report
What the data says

The Rural Enterprise Academy has no sixth form. Of the 57 pupils who finished Year 11 there in 2023, 2% moved to a sixth form college, 63% to a further education college and 9% started an apprenticeship.

Apprenticeships are a real route from here: 9% of leavers started one, roughly three times the England figure of 3%.

GCSE results in 2025 were well below the national picture: Attainment 8 of 37.6 against 46.1 across England and 43.9 in Staffordshire, with 17% of pupils getting grade 5 or above in both English and maths (England 45%).

Geography is unusually popular at GCSE: 100% of the year group took it, against 41% of pupils across England.

Where pupils went after Year 11

Destinations of the 2023 Year 11 leavers, measured the following year: the share in a sustained place for at least two terms. Compared with all state-funded schools in Staffordshire and England.

The Rural Enterprise Academy
Staffordshire
England
School sixth formSixth form collegeFurther education collegeOther educationApprenticeshipEmploymentNo sustained destination
MeasureThe Rural Enterprise AcademyStaffordshireEngland
Pupils in the cohort579,264607,348
Any sustained destination95%92%92%
Stayed in education72%84%86%
— school sixth form5%33%34%
— sixth form college2%3%13%
— further education college63%46%37%
— other education2%2%2%
Apprenticeship9%5%3%
Employment14%3%3%
No sustained destination2%6%6%
Destination unknown4%2%3%

GCSE results 2025

MeasureThe Rural Enterprise AcademyStaffordshireEngland
Attainment 8 (average points per pupil)37.643.946.1
Grade 5 or above in English and maths17%40%45%
Grade 4 or above in English and maths44%62%65%
Entered the English Baccalaureate subjects0%33%41%
EBacc average point score3.063.784.09
Disadvantaged pupils in the cohort26%23%28%
Attainment 8 — disadvantaged pupils34.732.934.9
Attainment 8 — other pupils38.647.150.4
Pupils with high prior attainment (Key Stage 2)
English as an additional language0%8%19%

Progress 8 is not available for 2025 and 2026: these cohorts had no Key Stage 2 tests in 2020 and 2021, so there is no baseline. Attainment 8 shows results without taking pupils’ starting points into account.

Subjects taken at GCSE

Entries in 2025 as a share of the Year 11 cohort, and the share of entries graded 7–9 and 4–9, compared with all entries in England.

SubjectEntriesShare of cohortEnglandGrades 7–9EnglandGrades 4–9
English Literature54100%86%6%21%46%
Combined Science54100%65%4%9%59%
Geography54100%41%6%25%28%
English Language54100%89%7%20%50%
Mathematics5398%88%0%22%60%
Spanish12%19%27%
History12%41%26%
Religious Studies12%31%32%
Classical Civilisation12%1%40%

Technical awards and other Key Stage 4 qualifications

SubjectEntriesShare of cohortEngland
Small Business Management51
Animal Care (Non-Agricultural)28
Tourism20
Engineering Studies16
Sports Studies14
Land Based Ops13

Other secondary schools in Staffordshire

Abbot Beyne School

Voluntary controlled school · sixth form · 834 pupils

87% stayed in education · Attainment 8 39.4

Alleyne's Academy

Academy converter · sixth form · 846 pupils

90% stayed in education · Attainment 8 47.7

Biddulph High School

Academy converter · sixth form · 746 pupils

84% stayed in education · Attainment 8 43.3

Sources: Department for Education school and college performance tables 2024/2025 (Key Stage 4 and 16–18 results, subject entries, destination measures for 2023 leavers); Get Information About Schools register as at 19 September 2026; Ofsted management information as at 31 August 2026. Small numbers are suppressed by DfE and shown as “—”. How to read these figures.